While preparing dinner one day, I started to shuck some corn. As I pulled the husks back, I was suddenly struck by the shapes of the leaves and the silk fibers. I played around with it, twisting the leaves and looking at the shapes they revealed. Then I looked at the corn in various lights...outdoors, indoors, artificial, natural. It was a fascinating exploration of a very beautiful object, which I had truly never appreciated before—except on my dinner plate. The curving leaves, the graceful thread, the golden corn itself, how magnificent! Almost too good to eat!